Happy New Year everybody! As some of you are aware the Carlton Veterinary Clinic has undergone some renovations over the past few months. As a celebration to a fresh start at the clinic we have decided to do a short article on our team members' pets. First up are Nurse Jessica's pets. She has a dog named Moss, and a cat named Radar.

MossMoss is a pure bred Irish Terrier who is named after a character from the TV show 'The IT Crowd' by Jess's little brother. Originally from Tasmania, Moss came to live with Jess and her family when she was a couple of months old in 2008. Moss has always loved people and cats (though not all the cats love her back) and will often play with the young adoption kittens that Jess brings home over the weekends or holidays. Moss enjoys her social visits to the clinic and is often the demonstration dog at our clinic's First Aid Seminars. Though not all visits have been fun for Moss. In late 2010 she developed acute pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas. Thankfully it was detected early enough that through a strict diet Moss can live a normal healthy life. The following year in 2011 Moss became lame. After some x-rays the veterinarians determined that she had a luxating patella, which is where the kneecap flicks out of the joint causing the leg to remain straight. Lucky for Moss her patella also flicks back into position too so Jess's family has decided to monitor it for now.

RadarRadar is Jess's pussy cat. Jess got Radar from a shelter in 2009. Radar was born with a deformed tail. The joints were all fused together making the tail shaped in a right angle. It wasn't causing Radar any pain but it was causing her distress as every time she went to the toilet she would soil herself. Jess decided to have the tail removed.

Radar and Moss are best friends and are often playing chasey around the house. Jess and her mum named Radar after their favourite TV show 'M.A.S.H'.